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Story: Prisoner of the Caucasus
I
One gentleman served as an officer in the Caucasus. His name was Zhilin.
One day he received a letter from home. His old mother writes to him: “I have become old, and I want to see my beloved son before I die. Come say goodbye to me, bury me, and then with God, go back to the service. And I have found a bride for you: she is smart, and good, and has property. If you fall in love, maybe you’ll get married and stay completely.”
Zhilin thought about it: “And indeed: the old woman has become really bad; maybe you won't have to see it. go; and if the bride is good, you can get married.”
He went to the colonel, straightened out his leave, said goodbye to his comrades, gave his soldiers four buckets of vodka as a farewell, and got ready to leave.
There was a war in the Caucasus at that time. There was no passage on the roads either day or night. As soon as any of the Russians leave or move away from the fortress, the Tatars (1) will either kill them or take them to the mountains. And it was customary that escorted soldiers walked from fortress to fortress twice a week. There are soldiers in front and behind, and people are riding in the middle.
It was summer. At dawn the convoys gathered for the fortress, the accompanying soldiers came out and set off along the road. Zhilin was riding on horseback, and his cart with things was traveling in a convoy.
It was twenty-five miles to go. The convoy walked quietly: sometimes the soldiers would stop, then someone’s wheel would come off or a horse would stop, and everyone would stand there, waiting.
The sun had already set for half a day, and the convoy had only covered half the road. Dust, heat, the sun is so hot, and there is nowhere to hide. Bare steppe; not a tree or bush along the road.
Zhilin rode forward, stopped and waited for the convoy to approach him. He hears a horn playing behind him - stand there again. Zhilin thought: “Shouldn’t I leave alone, without soldiers? The horse under me is good, even if I attack the Tatars, I will gallop away. Or not to go?..”
He stopped and thought. And another officer, Kostylin, with a gun, rides up to him on a horse and says:
- Let's go, Zhilin, alone. There’s no urine, I’m hungry, and it’s hot. At least squeeze my shirt out. - And Kostylin is a heavy, fat man, all red, and the sweat is pouring off him. Zhilin thought and said:
- Is the gun loaded?
- Charged.
- Well, then let's go. The only agreement is not to leave. And they drove forward along the road. They drive along the steppe, talk and look around. You can see far all around.
As soon as the steppe ended, the road went between two mountains into a gorge. Zhilin says:
“We need to go out to the mountain to have a look, otherwise they’ll probably jump out of the mountain and you won’t see it.”
And Kostylin says:
– What to watch? Let's go ahead. Zhilin did not listen to him.
“No,” he says, “you wait downstairs, and I’ll just take a look.”
And he turned his horse to the left, up the mountain. The horse near Zhilin was a hunting horse (he paid a hundred rubles for it in the herd as a foal and rode it out himself); as if on wings, she carried him up the steep slope. As soon as he jumped out, lo and behold, in front of him, on a tithe of space, the Tatars were standing on horseback. About thirty people. He saw it, began to turn back, and the Tatars saw him, rushed towards him, and at a gallop they grabbed their guns from their cases. Zhilin ran up the hill at full speed and shouted to Kostylin:
- Take out your gun! - and he thinks to his horse: “Mother, take it out, don’t catch your foot, you’ll stumble - you’re lost.” If I get to the gun, I won’t give in to them.”
And Kostylin, instead of waiting, as soon as he saw the Tatars, he ran as fast as he could towards the fortress. The horse is fried with a whip, first from one side, then from the other.
Only in the dust can you see the horse wagging its tail.
Zhilin sees that things are bad. The gun is gone, you can’t do anything with one checker. He started the horse back towards the soldiers - he thought about leaving. He sees six people rolling across him. Under him the horse is kind, and under those they are even kinder, and they even gallop across. He began to turn around, wanted to turn back, but the horse was already running wild, he couldn’t hold it, he was flying straight at them. He sees a Tatar with a red beard on a gray horse approaching him. Squeals, teeth bared, gun at the ready.
“Well,” Zhilin thinks, “I know you devils, if they take you alive, put you in a pit, and flog you with a whip. I won’t give in alive...”
And Zhilin, although not very tall, was brave. He grabbed his saber, launched his horse straight at the Red Tatar, and thought: “I’ll either knock him down with the horse or cut him down with the saber.”
Zhilin couldn’t get enough space to get onto his horse, they shot at him from behind with guns and hit the horse. The horse hit the ground with all its might and fell on Zilina’s leg.
He wanted to get up, but two stinking Tatars were sitting on him, twisting his arms back. He rushed, threw off the Tatars, and three people jumped off their horses and started beating him on the head with rifle butts. His vision grew dim and he staggered. The Tatars grabbed him, took him off the saddle, spare girths, twisted his arms behind his back, tied him with a Tatar knot, and dragged him to the saddle. They knocked off his hat, pulled off his boots, ransacked everything, took out his money, his watch, and tore up his dress. Zhilin looked back at his horse. She, my dear, fell on her side and lies there, only kicking her legs - she doesn’t reach the ground; There’s a hole in my head, and black blood is squeezing out of the hole—the dust has moistened an arshin all around.
One Tatar approached the horse and began to remove the saddle. She keeps beating,” he took out a dagger and cut her throat. It whistled from the throat, fluttered, and the steam was gone.
The Tatars took off the saddle and harness. The Tatar with a red beard sat on the horse, and the others lifted Zhilin into the saddle; and so as not to fall, they pulled him with a belt to the Tatar and took him to the mountains.
Zhilin sits behind the Tatar, sways, rubs his face into the stinking Tatar back. All he sees in front of him is a hefty Tatar back and a sinewy neck, and the shaved back of his head turns blue under his hat. Zhilin’s head is broken, blood is caked above his eyes. And he can neither recover on horseback nor wipe off the blood. My arms are twisted so tightly that my collarbone ache.
They rode for a long time from mountain to mountain, forded a river, got onto the road and drove through a ravine.
Zhilin wanted to notice the road where he was being taken, but his eyes were smeared with blood, but he couldn’t turn around.
It began to get dark; we crossed another river, began to climb a stone mountain, there was a smell of smoke, and dogs began to bark.
We arrived at the village. The Tatars got off their horses, the Tatar boys gathered, surrounded Zhilin, squeaked, rejoiced, and began to shoot stones at him.
The Tatar drove the guys away, took Zhilin off his horse and called to the worker. A Nogai man came, with high cheekbones, wearing only a shirt. The shirt is torn, the whole chest is bare. The Tatar ordered something to him. The worker brought a block: two oak blocks were mounted on iron rings, and in one ring there was a punch and a lock.
They untied Zilina’s hands, put him in a shoe and led him to the barn; They pushed him there and locked the door. Zhilin fell on the manure. He lay down, felt in the dark, where it was softer, and lay down.
It tells the story of a Russian officer captured by the mountaineers. Written for ABC, first published in 1872 in the magazine Zarya. One of the most popular works writer, reprinted many times and included in the school curriculum.
The title of the story is a reference to the title of Pushkin's poem "Prisoner of the Caucasus".
Story
The plot of the story is partly based on a real event that happened to Tolstoy during his service in the Caucasus in the 1850s. On June 23, 1853, he wrote in his diary: “I almost got captured, but in this case I behaved well, although too sensitive.” According to the memoirs of S. A. Bers, the writer’s brother-in-law,
| The peaceful Chechen Sado, with whom L. N. was traveling, was his great friend. And not long before they exchanged horses. Sado bought a young horse. Having tested it, he gave it to his friend L. N-chu, and he himself moved to his pacer, who, as you know, does not know how to gallop. It was in this form that the Chechens overtook them. L.N-ch, having the opportunity to gallop away on his friend’s frisky horse, did not leave him. Sado, like all mountaineers, never parted with his gun, but, unfortunately, it was not loaded. Nevertheless, he aimed it at his pursuers and, threatening, shouted at them. Judging by further actions pursuing, they intended to capture both, especially Sado, for revenge, and therefore did not shoot. This circumstance saved them. They managed to approach Grozny, where a sharp-eyed sentry noticed the pursuit from afar and raised the alarm. The Cossacks who came to meet them forced the Chechens to stop the pursuit. |
Tolstoy's daughter talks about in this case as follows:
| Tolstoy and his friend Sado accompanied the convoy to the Grozny fortress. The convoy walked slowly, stopped, Tolstoy was bored. He and four other horsemen accompanying the convoy decided to overtake it and ride forward. The road went through a gorge; the mountaineers could attack at any moment from above, from the mountain, or unexpectedly from behind cliffs and rock ledges. Three drove along the bottom of the gorge, and two - Tolstoy and Sado - along the top of the ridge. Before they had time to reach the ridge of the mountain, they saw Chechens rushing towards them. Tolstoy shouted to his comrades about the danger, and he, together with Sado, rushed forward to the fortress with all his might. Fortunately, the Chechens did not shoot; they wanted to capture Sado alive. The horses were playful and managed to gallop away. The young officer was injured; the horse killed under him crushed him and he could not free himself from under it. The Chechens galloping past hacked him half to death with swords, and when the Russians picked him up, it was already too late, he died in terrible agony. |
While actively compiling The ABC, Tolstoy wrote a story about a Caucasian prisoner. Sending the story to N. N. Strakhov in March 1872, Tolstoy noted:
Story " Caucasian prisoner"was published in the magazine "Zarya" (1872, No. 2). It was included in the “Fourth Russian Reading Book,” published on November 1, 1872.
Tolstoy himself highly appreciated his story and mentioned it in his treatise “What is Art? " in the following context:
At the same time, he defines the “second kind” of good art there as “art that conveys the simplest everyday feelings, those that are accessible to all people of all ages.” peace - art worldwide."
Commenting on this treatise, the philosopher Lev Shestov notes that “...he actually perfectly understands that his “Caucasian Prisoner” or “God knows the truth, but will not soon tell” (only these two stories of all that he has written, belongs to he to good art) - will not have for readers the meaning that not only his great novels have - but even “The Death of Ivan Ilyich.”
Plot
The action takes place during the Caucasian War.
Officer Zhilin serves in the Caucasus. His mother sends a letter asking him to visit her, and Zhilin leaves the fortress along with the convoy. On the way, he overtakes the convoy and meets Kostylin. Then they come across several mounted “Tatars” (Muslim mountaineers), when Kostylin sees the Tatars, he rides off, leaving Zhilin alone. And they shoot his horse and take him prisoner. Zilina is brought to a mountain village, where he is sold to Abdul-Murat. The same owner turns out to have Zhilin’s colleague Kostylin, who was also caught by the Tatars. Abdul forces the officers to write letters home so that they can be ransomed. Zhilin indicates the wrong address on the letter, realizing that his mother still cannot collect the required amount.
Zhilin and Kostylin live in a barn; during the day they put pads on their feet. Zhilin makes dolls, attracting local children and, above all, Abdul’s 13-year-old daughter, Dina. While walking around the village and its surroundings, Zhilin wonders in which direction he can run back to the Russian fortress. At night he digs in the barn. Dina sometimes brings him flatbreads or pieces of lamb.
When Zhilin notices that the inhabitants of the village are alarmed because of the death of one of his fellow villagers in a battle with the Russians, he decides to escape. He and Kostylin crawl into a tunnel at night and try to get to the forest, and from there to the fortress. However, due to the slowness of the corpulent Kostylin, they do not have time to get there; the Tatars notice them and bring them back. Now they are put in a pit and the pads are not removed at night. Dina sometimes continues to bring food to Zilina.
Realizing that the mountaineers are afraid of the arrival of the Russians and could kill the prisoners, Zhilin one day, at nightfall, asks Dina to bring him a long stick, with which he climbs out of the hole (the sick and soggy Kostylin remains there). He tries to knock the lock off the blocks, but cannot do this, including with the help of Dina. Having made his way through the forest, at dawn Zhilin goes to the location of the Russian troops. Subsequently, Kostylin, with extremely poor health, was ransomed from captivity.
Reviews
| “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is written in a completely special, new language. Simplicity of presentation is put in the foreground. There is none extra words, not a single stylistic embellishment... You can’t help but be amazed at this incredible, unprecedented restraint, this ascetically strict execution of the task taken upon yourself to tell the people the events that are interesting to them “without further ado.” This is a feat that, perhaps, will not be possible for any of the other luminaries of our modern literature. The artistic simplicity of the story in “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is brought to its apogee. There is nowhere to go further, and before this majestic simplicity the most talented attempts of the same kind by Western writers completely disappear and fade into obscurity. |
| The theme “Russian among the Chechens” is the theme of Pushkin’s “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Tolstoy took the same title, but told everything differently. His prisoner is a Russian officer from the poor nobles, a man who knows how to do everything with his own hands. He's almost not a gentleman. He is captured because another, noble officer, rode off with a gun, did not help him, and was also captured. Zhilin—that’s the prisoner’s name—understands why the highlanders don’t like Russians. The Chechens are strangers, but not hostile to him, and they respect his courage and ability to fix the watch. The prisoner is freed not by a woman who is in love with him, but by a girl who takes pity on him. He tries to save his comrade, he took him with him, but he was timid and lacking energy. Zhilin was dragging Kostylin on his shoulders, but was caught with him, and then ran away alone. Tolstoy is proud of this story. This is wonderful prose - calm, there are no decorations in it and there is not even what is called psychological analysis. Human interests collide, and we sympathize with Zhilin - to a good person, and what we know about him is enough for us, but he himself doesn’t want to know much about himself. |
Film adaptations
- "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - a classic 1975 film adaptation; director Georgiy Kalatozishvili, in the role of Zhilin Yuri Nazarov
- "Prisoner of the Caucasus" - a 1996 film in which the motives of the story are used, but the action is moved during Chechen war 1990s; director Sergei Bodrov Sr. , in the role of Zhilin Sergei Bodrov Jr.
Audio performances
There are several audio versions of the story:
Vladimir Makanin's story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (1994) in its title contains a reference to several works of Russian classics called “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, including Tolstoy’s story. Also in Makanin’s novel “Asan” (2008), dedicated to the events of the Chechen War of the 1990s, the main character’s name is Alexander Sergeevich Zhilin...
Having traveled around the entire line of troops from the right to the left flank, Prince Andrei climbed to the battery from which, according to the headquarters officer, the entire field was visible. Here he dismounted from his horse and stopped at the outermost of the four cannons that had been removed from the limbers. In front of the guns walked the sentry artilleryman, who was stretched out in front of the officer, but at a sign made to him, he resumed his uniform, boring walk. Behind the guns there were limbers, and further back there was a hitching post and artillery fires. To the left, not far from the outermost gun, there was a new wicker hut, from which animated officer voices could be heard.
Indeed, from the battery there was a view of almost the entire location of the Russian troops and most of the enemy. Directly opposite the battery, on the horizon of the opposite hillock, the village of Shengraben was visible; to the left and to the right one could discern in three places, among the smoke of their fires, masses of French troops, of which, obviously, most of them were in the village itself and behind the mountain. To the left of the village, in the smoke, it seemed like something like a battery, but with the naked eye it was impossible to get a good look. Our right flank was located on a rather steep hill, which dominated the French position. Our infantry was positioned along it, and the dragoons were visible at the very edge. In the center, where the Tushin battery was located, from which Prince Andrei viewed the position, there was the most gentle and straight descent and ascent to the stream that separated us from Shengraben. To the left, our troops adjoined the forest, where the fires of our infantry, chopping wood, were smoking. The French line was wider than ours, and it was clear that the French could easily get around us on both sides. Behind our position there was a steep and deep ravine, along which it was difficult for artillery and cavalry to retreat. Prince Andrei, leaning on the cannon and taking out his wallet, drew for himself a plan for the disposition of the troops. He wrote notes in pencil in two places, intending to communicate them to Bagration. He intended, firstly, to concentrate all the artillery in the center and, secondly, to transfer the cavalry back to the other side of the ravine. Prince Andrei, constantly being with the commander-in-chief, monitoring the movements of the masses and general orders and constantly engaged in historical descriptions of battles, and in this upcoming matter involuntarily thought about the future course of military operations only in general outline. He imagined only the following kind of major accidents: “If the enemy launches an attack on the right flank,” he said to himself, “the Kiev Grenadier and Podolsk Jaeger will have to hold their position until the reserves of the center approach them. In this case, the dragoons can hit the flank and overthrow them. In the event of an attack on the center, we place a central battery on this hill and, under its cover, pull together the left flank and retreat to the ravine in echelons,” he reasoned with himself...
All the time that he was on the battery at the gun, he, as often happens, without ceasing, heard the sounds of the voices of the officers speaking in the booth, but did not understand a single word of what they were saying. Suddenly the sound of voices from the booth struck him with such a sincere tone that he involuntarily began to listen.
“No, my dear,” said a pleasant voice that seemed familiar to Prince Andrei, “I say that if it were possible to know what will happen after death, then none of us would be afraid of death.” So, my dear.
Another, younger voice interrupted him:
- Yes, be afraid, don’t be afraid, it doesn’t matter - you won’t escape.
- And you’re still afraid! Oh you, learned people, said a third courageous voice, interrupting both. “You artillerymen are very learned because you can take everything with you, including vodka and snacks.
And the owner of the courageous voice, apparently an infantry officer, laughed.
“But you’re still afraid,” continued the first familiar voice. – You’re afraid of the unknown, that’s what. Whatever you say, the soul will go to heaven... after all, we know that there is no heaven, but only one sphere.
Again the courageous voice interrupted the artilleryman.
“Well, treat me to your herbalist, Tushin,” he said.
teacher of Russian language and literature MOU
“Lyceum No. 1”, Chamzinka village, Republic of Mordovia
Pechkazova Svetlana Petrovna
History of the story
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
LITERATURE LESSON IN 5TH GRADE
introduce students to the history of the creation of Leo Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”,
remember the terms “story”, “episode”, “plot” and “composition”,
help students understand the humanistic focus of the story
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy -
writer, public figure, teacher
In 1859, Tolstoy discovered in Yasnaya Polyana a school for peasant children, helped set up 20 more in the surrounding area, and this activity fascinated him very much.
In 1871, he began to compile the “ABC” - a school manual for teaching children reading, writing and arithmetic.
The book opens alphabetically; each of the letters is illustrated by a picture: “A” - watermelon, “B” - barrel, “P” - fish.
The second part of "The ABC" is a series short stories of a moralizing nature. You all remember “The Parable of the Liar,” which tells the story of a boy who deceived the shepherds three times. When the herd he was protecting was actually attacked by wolves, cries for help turned out to be useless: no one believed the young liar.
History of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Story The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was written for ABC, which the writer published in 1872.
1872
The writer made sure that in his “ABC”, as he said, everything was “beautiful, short, simple and, most importantly, clear.” At the heart of the story real case which happened to the writer himself during his service in the Caucasus.
History of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
IN mid-19th century centuries there was a heavy bloody war in the Caucasus. Tsar Nicholas I sent his troops to conquer the Caucasian lands. The mountain peoples who lived there stubbornly resisted the tsarist troops. On steep mountain roads, in forests and gorges, at river crossings, the mountaineers set up ambushes and took Russian soldiers and officers prisoner. Russian convoys moved from one fortress to another under heavy guard.
L.N. Tolstoy at that time was on military service in the Caucasian Army, participated in the hostilities of Russian troops.
History of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Once, having traveled far from his detachment, Leo Tolstoy was almost captured. The writer was rescued from trouble by his companion and friend, the Chechen Sado.
Shortly before this incident, Sado bought a young horse, which turned out to be a good racer. L.N. Tolstoy praised the horse, and Sado, according to Caucasian custom, gave him his horse. And so, when the Chechens began to overtake his friends, Tolstoy could easily get away from them on a fast horse, but for nothing in the world would he agree to abandon his comrade in trouble.
History of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Sado had a gun, but it turned out to be unloaded. However, he menacingly aimed his gun at the approaching pursuers and shouted at them. The mountaineers wanted to take Sado and the Russian officer prisoner alive and therefore did not shoot.
They were especially angry at their fellow tribesman Sado, who was friends with the Russians. Pursued by the Chechens, Tolstoy and Sado approached the Grozny fortress; a sentry saw the chase and raised the alarm. Mounted Cossacks immediately appeared from the fortress. The Chechens turned back and rushed off into the mountains.
History of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Later, L.N. Tolstoy became acquainted with the “Memoirs of a Caucasian Officer” published in the magazine “Russkiy Vestnik”, the author of which was Colonel of the Cuirassier Regiment Fyodor Fedorovich Tornau. The author reports under what circumstances he was captured by the mountaineers, how the local girl Aslan Koz, who fell in love with him, tried to help him, why his first escape attempt was unsuccessful and how he managed to free himself from captivity.
Tolstoy used these memories for his story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus."
History of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
After reading the title, guess what the story will be about?
The plot of the story is simple:
two Russian officers are captured, one was able to escape, the other was not able to .
History of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Who is the Caucasian prisoner?
Caucasian prisoner -
a person held captive by Caucasians in the Caucasus.
Guess why L.N. Tolstoy gives the title to the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, and not “prisoners”?
Two officers are captured, but only one of them was truly “captured.” Another officer managed to free himself, and it was he who is the hero of Tolstoy’s story.
Plot and composition of the story
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
Working with terms
a short narrative work that tells about one or more episodes in a person's life.
Story - This…
Episode - This…
depiction of a single event with a beginning and an end.
chain of events occurring in a work.
Plot - This…
Composition - This…
construction of a work, arrangement of parts and episodes in a meaningful sequence.
List the elements of the composition.
Exposition.
Development of action.
Climax.
Denouement.
Story composition
"Prisoner of the Caucasus"
The action takes place in the 19th century in the Caucasus. There is a war between the Russians and the highlanders. Initial introduction to the characters
Exposure:
Tie:
Development of action:
Climax:
Interchange:
Epilogue:
Fill out the table after reading the work.
I wish you to read the story carefully
L.N. Tolstoy “Prisoner of the Caucasus”
Many poems, poems and stories are dedicated to the Caucasus, but it is not for nothing that many are interested in the work “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Who wrote it, let's try to figure it out further. Once upon a time literary critic Belinsky wrote that the Caucasus for Russians has become a cherished country of “free will and inexhaustible poetry, vibrant life and bold dreams.” Today it is not for nothing that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov and Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy are considered three Caucasian captives. The Caucasus left an indelible mark on their souls, because since the 18th century, this wonderful region in itself began to arouse great interest among writers, historians, and researchers, as a result of which numerous historical, scientific and literary works began to appear.
“Prisoner of the Caucasus”: who wrote it?
Pushkin is considered the discoverer of the Caucasus in Russian poetry. It was here that he drew his inspiration, communicating through poetry with romantic landscapes majestic mountains, green valleys and fast rivers. And acute and dangerous events (1816-1964) and the life of the mountaineers began to serve as sources of various literary plots. It was here that the poet plunged into the atmosphere of various dramatic stories and legends about military confrontation and the heroism of Russian officers in captivity and irreconcilable highlanders.
Pushkin began writing his poem “Prisoner of the Caucasus” in August 1820 in Gurzuf, Crimea. It became the first work dedicated to the Caucasus, which was a huge success among readers. According to the author himself, the character of the captive hero did not turn out very well, but he described the mountains of the fertile region with extraordinary admiration, and the love of the Circassian woman also deeply touched his soul.
"Prisoner of the Caucasus." Lermontov
Throughout his, unfortunately, short life, he felt a reverent love for the Caucasus and M. Yu. Lermontov. In 1825 he visited this fabulously beautiful region. It greatly excited his imagination and subsequently took a central place in his work. He received all information about the Caucasus from his relatives living in Mineralnye Vody. In addition, Pushkin’s “prisoner” made an indelible impression on him. Therefore, already at the age of 14 (1818), Mikhail Yuryevich began to write his “Prisoner of the Caucasus.” The plots have a strong similarity and tell how a Russian serviceman is captured by the Circassians. A Circassian woman fell in love with him very much, who later helped him escape. Only Lermontov gave this plot his own unique and inimitable facet.
Tolstoy
And other authors had the work “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Who wrote a story on this topic? Of course, the “third prisoner” is Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. He came to the Caucasus when he was 23 years old. And fell in love with these lands. He didn’t know what to do with himself, so he started writing a story about local beauties, people’s lives, and traditions. In three s more than a year(1851-1854), lived here, he left this region famous writer. Many years later, in his memoirs, he emphasized that the Caucasus became a school of life for him. Here he first learned what combat, danger and death were.
As a child, Tolstoy read fascinating Caucasian writings Lermontov, which he enjoyed. Then Chechen mountaineers appeared among his acquaintances, and he recorded their stories and songs, especially about the war. This is how the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was born in his head. The author describes in it the life of two Russian prisoners - Zhilin and Kostylin, who ended up in the Caucasus. For Tolstoy, his young years spent in the Caucasian War will evoke the best memories. Here he was lonely and unhappy, so it was the most painful, but good time for reflection, the beginning of writing and the achievement of high thought.
Now, I think, the confusion regarding the question of what “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is, who wrote it and what it tells about, will disappear by itself. As it turned out, there are already three similar works, and not just one.
Year of publication of the story: 1872
Although LN Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was written more than a hundred years ago, it has not lost its relevance in our time. Moreover, “Prisoner of the Caucasus” should be read according to the school curriculum. The story was filmed in 1975, and in 1996 it became the basis for a film set in Chechnya. Lev Nikolaevich himself spoke highly of his work and rightfully called it one of his best creations. It is thanks to stories such as “Prisoner of the Caucasus” that Tolstoy still occupies the highest places in history.
The plot of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” briefly
If we talk about Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” in brief, then the action of the work takes place during the Caucasian War of 1829 – 1864. The action unfolds around officer Zhilin, who receives a letter from his mother and decides to visit her, and possibly marry her. He sets off on the road with the nearest convoy, but, having overtaken it, he meets another officer, Kostylin. They travel together until several Tatars come to meet them. Kostylin, who was supposed to cover the main character of the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” rushes to run. Because of this, both of them, as in, are captured and sold to another Tatar - Abdul-Murat.
Further in LN Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” you can read about how the new “master” of the prisoners demands that they write a letter home. In it, they must ask their relatives to ransom them. But the amount indicated by the Tatar is not affordable for Zhilin’s mother. Therefore, in order not to make his mother suffer and get into debt, the main character writes a letter with the wrong address.
Both prisoners are kept in a barn. They are put in stocks at night and forced to work during the day. Zhilin finds common language with the daughter of the Tatar who captivated them, Dina, and she begins to bring him cakes and milk in exchange for wooden dolls. Soon Zhilin decides to escape and begins to dig a tunnel. When the digging is finished, both prisoners escape. But Kostylin cannot run quickly, complaining about his feet being chafed by his boots. Because of this, they are noticed by one of the locals, who tells Abdul-Murat about the escaped prisoners. A chase with dogs is organized and soon both prisoners are caught. 
If you read further from the story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” summary, then you will find out that now the prisoners are being put in a pit. The stocks are not removed from them day or night, and the possibilities for escape are practically zero. But Dina helps the main character. She lowers a stick into the hole, which Zhilin uses to get out of the hole. Kostylin is afraid to decide to escape again. The Tatar’s daughter cries for a long time, parting with the main character, because she has become very attached to him. Moving away from the village, Zhilin tries to knock down the stocks, but nothing comes of it. So he runs straight into the blocks.
The main character of Leo Tolstoy's story "Prisoner of the Caucasus" will have to long road and, if not for the cakes that Dina gave him, he would hardly have been able to overcome the entire path. And even when exhausted, he continues to crawl. At dawn he reaches the field, behind which Russian units are already standing. But this field still needs to be overcome, and as luck would have it, the Tatars notice it. They rush to Zhilin and he last bit of strength calls for help. He is heard from the Russian positions, and the Cossacks rush to cut off the Tatars. The Tatars do not dare to approach, and Zhilin ends up with his own. Main character Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” tells them about his misadventures, ending the story with the words: “So I went home and got married! No, apparently it’s not my destiny.” So Zhilin remained to serve in the Caucasus, and Kostylin was ransomed a few months later, barely alive and with severely compromised health.
The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” on the Top books website
Thanks to the presence in school curriculum The story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” is very popular to read. Moreover, in most educational institutions The essay “Prisoner of the Caucasus” by Tolstoy is required. Thanks to this, the work was included in our winter 2016 rating. In addition, thanks to the surge of interest in the story, it is presented among. But even before that, the story periodically made it into our ratings. Therefore, in the future we will probably see him more than once on the pages of our Top Books website.
You can read Leo Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” online on the Top Books website.
You can download Leo Tolstoy’s story “Prisoner of the Caucasus” for free on the Top Books website.